Chocolate And The Brain

Is it too good to be true? Could something so delicious be so good for you? If you get the right type of chocolate and you consume it in the right manner, absolutely!

The right type of chocolate to consume...

A chocolate loaded with both antioxidants and healthy fats and does not spike your blood sugar too much should be the goal. This can be a challenge since most chocolates don’t taste very good without sugar added. Here are some chocolate ingredients we at Whole Brain Health have found to be very tasty, nutrient dense, and keeps your blood sugar at a healthy level.

Raw organic cacao powder

Organic coconut oil

Organic peanut butter

Raw honey

Sea salt

Cayenne pepper (if you like a little spice in your chocolate).

Since much of the brain is coated in fat, both coconut oil and peanut butter provide the healthy fats that keep our brains pleasantly plump. Cayenne pepper, cacao powder, and raw honey all provide potent antioxidants that help to prevent the oxidation (or breakdown) of our brain. Raw honey is lower on the glycemic index (GI) than regular honey, table sugar, and many other sweeteners. The lower GI plus its relatively low dose in one piece of chocolate means that its not harmful. Plus, raw honey is loaded with antioxidants and helps some people with their allergies1. Sea salt possesses trace minerals that are stripped from refined salt.

Since we can’t give away the exact recipe, we encourage you to find chocolates at your local health food store that are low or devoid in refined sugars, or join a Whole Brain Health event to get some of our chocolates!

The right manner to consume chocolate...

Everything in moderation (including moderation, my Father always says)! Even though raw honey is healthy in small doses, too much is not good for you, especially if you are diabetic or pre-diabetic. One small piece of chocolate a day, just like one glass of wine a day, tends to be good for you! Furthermore, the pleasantry of chocolate can be used for more than just indulging your taste buds and getting healthy nutrients into your body. If you time up your chocolate intake along with a behavior you’d like to do more of, you will create a positive reinforcement. For example, consider someone who does not like analyzing their financial expenditures but feels that it would be a good habit to make. This person could reward themself while analyzing their finances by having chocolate. This would begin to create positive connotations with analyzing their finances which would help pave the way to engage more often in this behavior.

Perhaps timing up your healthy chocolate intake while engaging in particular behaviors is a great thing for you to start doing. Is this your greatest opportunity for improvement? Before addressing any particular facet of brain health, always ask yourself this question first: "What Is My Greatest Opportunity For Improvement?"

Asha'ari ZA. Ingestion of honey improves the symptoms of allergic rhinitis: evidence from a randomized placebo-controlled trial in the East coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Ann Saudi Med. 2013 Sep-Oct;33(5):469-75

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